New Drives
 

Just a little thought here, have a 2006 Fountain in pristine condition. One drive has a flu bug of some sort. Somewhat convinced that two new drives is the right thing to do here.

So I spend north of 20K on this brain fart, what does it do for the value of this boat?

Do the Merc rebuilds? Do local dumb fock rebuilds?

Where would your real money go?

We've got a solution that can fix your health problems. :)

Drives
 

Where about in northern NY are you. If you need a local dumb fock to rebuild I may be able to help you

Ayuh,.... It's worth the same money it's worth now,....

Drives are rebuildable,.....

Rebuild. I just had one rebuilt by a very well known, reputable drive builder for under $5K with shipping. That included upper and lower gear sets, cone clutch, all new bearings and seals, input and prop shafts refinished/resized, etc. Plus a 2 year warranty. Assuming you have XR's so they might be a bit more. I would not buy new unless your cores are junk. If you insist on buying new, I'd put that money towards SCX's or Arnesons and be done with it.

Just go through them both. As far as value, its like buying a used car with newer tires. Lucky buyer but not going to pay you anything for them.

No question Peter, find a reputable drive guy and send it (or both) in for diagnosis and an estimate. Barring some unforeseen issue the rebuild should be by far the more economical and sensible way to go. It will require however that you suppress your legendary perfectionism-gene because you will have "rebuilt" parts on your machine (oh the horror!). :)

Boy that's a heck of a way to gain some respect of someone local that might possess the skill to correctly perform the rebuild!

No offense intended. Just that most will do the work and then when it / they fail the standard answer is don't talk to me, perfect when it left here. One has been done already, was not blown up or trashed, just making some metal. Never was perfect, so one would have to think that something was missed. Must have been just a bit off the perfect mark.

Might not be the best choice, but have had plenty of Bravos done over the years and never has anyone stepped up cover their work. Not a single one was ever anything but Merc power of a level compatible with the drive. I'm not complaining about the Bravo drive, I've had pretty good luck with this present boat, which is why I am considering the new ones or maybe the Merc factory recons.

New will polish up better!

One drive pushes up on the gears and one down. kinda like one is in reverse. That is the one that needs attention probably. never going to get rid of drive service unless merc makes something really great.


" Alex. let's take new drives for 30 grand

...( the daily double) !!

and the answer is

"No way"

nobody is going to pay you 30 grand more for your boat when they could spend the 30 grand themself when they get it. Right?

i know Pete and am from the same area. I don't believe there is anyone up here in the north country that could do an XR drive. I know they are far from complicated as compared to others, but up here where we are from it's like the frontier, and very sparsely populated so by volume of people and performance boats there isn't anyone reputable. I had mine rebuilt last year, so far so good and it was done by a very reputable shop, but I also traveled 3 hours south.

Well I would like to thank all for the constructive comments here. I did put this to bed a few hours ago, BAM Marine has the best price on a pair of XR's in the country. Thank You Heather!

And I do believe this boat deserves nothing but the best. It is after all the BLACK BIOTCH.

P.S. Pair of fine used XR's for sale. Owner can demo on boat for a few more days.

Odd thing here is that it is the one that spins standard that has the flu.

Never said 30K more, but any Bravo boat IS worth something more with new drives right from Merc Racing. It's worth more to me than a rebuild that he who took my money will not stand behind. Just sayin'.

But like I said, problem solved.

Did you spend 30 k on new bravos?

RaggedEdge, how many hours do you have on the old drives? Just asking because I may be in the same position as you in the near future. I too am leaning toward new drives and selling the old to offset the cost.

With 780 HP, we have had great success with our Bravos using the Max Machine shafts. How many hours did you get on drives?

Rebuilding Bravo's is cake work. The issue is we (as marine mechanics & boat owners ) all know how the boats are run, myself included. I don't just lazily cruise around, I'm pushing my heavy ass boat as hard as I can 50% of the time. When I break a drive it's usually because I've over taxed one or both gear sets leaving the water and returning, deliberately or not or struck a hidden underwater obstruction (refrigerator perhaps). I'll offer a warranty on cruisers not go-fasts for that very reason. If you want a warranty that'll be backed up longer than 90 days then buy new.

I was interested in a warranty of sorts. OEM has it's benefits. If rebuilding Bravos, I've done this, was a cake walk then every marine service shop would do it and offer warranty on their work.

You rebuild a pair of Bravos, lets say an average of 5500.00 each versa you buy new and buy smart. Then you sell off the good one, my case, and the parts of the not so good one, my case, and where exactly do you find yourself? Not so far off from the rebuild deal. So why am I such a fockin' fool to spend a few extra dollars for a better product, a warranty, and maybe some added value on a 35 Fountain that has been said to be one of the cleanest, straightest ones in the country! Opinion of others, not related to me.

Not to factor in the I keep this Biotch and fun the chit out of it for years to come!

To answer some other questions here, 300 hours, problem free, "06 boat with stock 525's run like I actually did pay for it. These drives owe me nothing. Money spent was way under one who stated 30K. Bam Marine was the best in the entire nation, believe me I did the homework. I realize that there are some rebuilders out there that have their chit together and offer a good product. I just felt that for me, for my boat, for my boat value, genuine Merc Racing was the way to go.

End of story......................... Shipped this afternoon!

Talk to Mike at coastal marine exports. He has great prices on new stuff

Since we are talking drives, what is a Teague Platinum Plus upper worth with just a few test hours on it after a fresh rebuild? I bought it as a spare for my Fountain back in 2011 and it's just been sitting in my storage unit collecting dust since.

I did and for sure he does.

The ones I bought from Bam must have been one of those Merc Racing deals of the week. Costal was there in the number two spot.

Must be worth some decent money, little more with a fresh coat of wax.

I dig it, $11000.00 for a set of fresh rebuilds is steep.... Most marine shops are not equipped to rebuild drives, much less actually enjoy doing it. Most shops I've dealt with are just going to sell someone a new drive and be done with it not even offering the rebuild as an option, they don't want to assume any liability if it fails. I don't blame you for buying new, that'd be a nice option to have.

Thanks for the vote of confidence here, some seem to think I am right out of my head to even consider new. Only thing that would have been better would be one of the very few that might take the existing drives in for some sort of core value. I'm not near any of them so I'll just take a shot at selling the good one, and try for something for the rebuildable one. There are some shops out there that can do the work, just not right here in my back yard.

Keep one and build a Spare Then you wont be waiting next time. There WILL be a next time :poopoo:

I am tooled and enjoy building drives FYI.

I would be interested in your old drives for the right $

Hey we should talk.
The new ones are in transit, I have a tentative appointment to do the switch in the next week to ten days then these can go in the box and out the door. I am seriously interested in these going to a new home. Let me know what you're thinking.

You can just let me hang on to them for spares and we can tie up and talk about them at Potters Beach.

I just rebuilt my center drive (tossed a prop blade and took out bearings), all new bearings, gear set, and other misc. parts. A hair over 3K. First drive I've hurt in 5 years. I don't drive this 10,000 lb tub like it's a Prius either. Running a red c hair shy of 93 on GPS with 5 adults full of fuel.

I know your boat. And I would help a Fountain brother out with a set of spares,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, on the cheap.

I did what I did for a reason, off base in the mind of some for sure, but for a reason. This boat is and has always been my baby, nothing is too good or over the top for this thing. I have busted my azz for a lifetime to own this Fountain and it will always get what it needs.

I am fortunate enough to have two biotches, a blonde one and a black one, the Black Biotch costs me way more money.

Newsflash on this here...................... The new ones arrived this afternoon, those that may have an interest in the ones coming off, let me know. Not looking for big stupid money, just someone with a serious interest.

I tried to PM you about your old drives, but your box is full. Give me a call if you want. 812 202 0403. Thanks, Joe

Thank you RaggedEdge! :cool-smiley-026:

Drives
 

I might be interested in your drives. i tryed to send you PM about drives, your in box is full.

You are more than welcome! Price was great and service was over the top!

Snapmorgan and Clustergear I apologize for the full PM box. I just took the boat to have them changed out this afternoon.

If you want you can try my office phone @ 315-265-7370, I am not in there all the time this time of year but there is a machine 24/7 and I do check it often, I will call you back. I am serious about these going away, call me, willing to listen to any offers.